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sometimes it does irritate me when people who arent vietnamese wear the ao dai because im so hyper aware of all the fraught political history behind it but thats my problem + i know a good amount of viet ppl arent obsessed with fashion history like me
did you know the modern form of ao dai was designed by a woman from hanoi named cat tuong? it was around the time of french colonization in vietnam and was a landmark for western influence in vietnam. around the late 1950s (when french occupation was replaced by the US)
ao dai became heavily associated with the south/was held in disdain by northern vietnamese (because of it's western influence and supposed promotion of capitalist ideals). the wife of the presidents chief advisor wore a version of ao dai and was met with praise and criticism
Because she did so when ao dai was considered controversial in the north.. it was even banned in the north for a period of time and continued to have a falling out with the country through the late 1970s (because guess what was happening around then...)
unsurprisingly during this time, ao dai became very popular overseas in vietnamese american immigrant communities, especially with the beginnings of miss ao dai pageants). it regained popularity back in vietnam when it started to become a standard for female school uniforms
white ao dai have become widely associated with female students though it depends on the school. also its pretty controversial among female students since ao dai can be incredibly uncomfortable and impractical + male students arent required to hold to a similar dress code LOL
currently its no longer such a controversial garment and widely celebrated by vietnamese communities in america and vietnam (especially as miss vietnam has been seen featuring versions of ao dai in miss universe pageants) 
there are smaller movements by young people to bring
there are smaller movements by young people to bring
ao dai back to casual/modern fashion but there are various levels of success since (in my opinion) ao dai is just not. the most comfortable thing to wear + takes tailoring/money to actually look nice since it's such a fitted dress!
